Birth Injury Lawyer Davie, FL

Did something go wrong during your baby’s delivery?

Jacobson Injury Firm works out which of Florida’s two systems applies to your child, then pursues everything that system allows.

Davie is the largest town in Florida by population, with 110,320 residents at the 2020 census, and a lot of those residents are young families delivering at hospitals across Broward County. Nearly every one of those deliveries goes fine. When one does not, parents walk into a legal structure unlike any other injury claim, where a state compensation plan may replace the lawsuit entirely. Our birth injury lawyer in Davie, FL sorts out that structure first. Call (561) 567-7163 for a free consultation.

Table of Contents

1. Birth Injury Lawyer in Davie, FL
2. Why Choose Jacobson Injury Firm for Birth Injury Claims
3. Types of Birth Injury Cases We Handle
4. How NICA Works and What It Pays
5. When a Birth Injury Falls Outside NICA
6. Deadlines and Damages in a Traditional Claim
7. Frequently Asked Questions
8. Contact Jacobson Injury Firm

Birth Injury Lawyer in Davie, FL

Most parents learn about NICA after the fact, sometimes from a form they signed at a prenatal appointment and barely read. Florida’s Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Plan is a no-fault system. For the injuries it covers, it pays set benefits without anyone proving negligence, and in exchange it bars the malpractice lawsuit.

The whole case turns on whether your child’s injury falls inside that definition or outside it. A Davie birth injury attorney answers that question before anything else, because the answer decides the forum, the benefits, and whether a jury ever hears the case.

Why Choose Jacobson Injury Firm for Birth Injury Claims

A Science Background for a Medical Case

Birth injury claims live inside fetal monitoring strips, delivery notes, and neonatal records. Adam Jacobson holds a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a Juris Doctor from Florida International University College of Law, and is a member of The Florida Bar. He reads the chart himself.

Results in Cases Measured in Decades

Our firm has recovered millions of dollars for injured clients. A birth injury claim prices a lifetime of care for a child, and valuing it takes life care planners and economists, not a multiplier on today’s bills.

Expert Costs Advanced

Every traditional claim needs paid physician review before filing. Those costs sit inside our contingency fee arrangement, so your family pays nothing upfront.

What Our Clients Say

“I felt supported every step of the way. Adam and his assistant were approachable, professional, and always available when I had questions or concerns. You can tell they genuinely care about their clients.” 

Jawaharlal Wadiwa

Read more on our Google Business Profile.

Types of Birth Injury Cases We Handle

• Oxygen deprivation injuries: Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and related brain injuries from delayed response to fetal distress.
• Delayed cesarean delivery: A C-section ordered too late after monitoring showed the baby was in trouble.
• Brachial plexus injuries: Nerve damage to the shoulder and arm from excessive force during a difficult delivery.
• Instrument injuries: Skull fractures and bleeding from improper forceps or vacuum extraction.
• Failure to manage maternal conditions: Unaddressed preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, or infection that harmed the baby.
• Neonatal care failures: Missed jaundice, infection, or low blood sugar in the first days of life.
• Injuries to the mother: Hemorrhage, uterine rupture, and surgical injury during delivery, handled as medical malpractice claims in their own right.

How NICA Works and What It Pays

Florida Statute § 766.302 defines a covered birth-related neurological injury tightly. Every element has to be present:

• An injury to the brain or spinal cord of a live infant.
• A birth weight of at least 2,500 grams for a single birth, or 2,000 grams for each baby in a multiple birth.
• Caused by oxygen deprivation or mechanical injury during labor, delivery, or resuscitation in the immediate post-delivery period in a hospital.
• Leaving the infant permanently and substantially impaired both mentally and physically.
• Not caused by a genetic or congenital abnormality.

Where the injury fits, Florida Statute § 766.303 makes NICA the exclusive remedy against anyone directly involved in the labor, delivery, or immediate resuscitation. The one exception requires clear and convincing evidence of bad faith, malicious purpose, or willful and wanton disregard of human rights or safety, and the civil action has to be filed before an award is paid or becomes final.

What NICA pays is set by Florida Statute § 766.31:

• Actual expenses for medically necessary care, therapy, equipment, and related travel, with specific provisions for family psychotherapy, vehicle assistance, and up to $100,000 in housing modifications.
• A periodic award to the parents or guardians capped at $250,000 as of 1 January 2021, rising by 3 percent every 1 January since.
• A $50,000 death benefit.
• Reasonable attorney fees for filing the claim, approved by an administrative law judge.

Notice matters here. Florida Statute § 766.316 requires participating hospitals and physicians to tell obstetrical patients about the plan and its limits, unless an emergency makes notice impractical. The Florida Supreme Court held in Galen of Florida v. Braniff in 1997 that providers must give that notice, when practicable, a reasonable time before delivery. Whether proper notice happened is one of the first things we check.

When a Birth Injury Falls Outside NICA

Plenty of serious birth injuries miss the definition, and those proceed as ordinary medical malpractice claims with full damages available. Common reasons:

• The injury left the child physically impaired but cognitively intact. A brachial plexus injury frequently falls here, since the “mentally and physically” test is not met.
• The baby weighed less than the statutory threshold.
• The harm happened during pregnancy care or after the immediate post-delivery period, outside the labor and delivery window.
• The injury traces to a maternal condition mismanaged weeks before labor.
• The provider was not a NICA participant, or failed to give the required notice.

Traditional claims face Florida’s presuit rules. Florida Statute § 766.106 requires formal notice of intent to each defendant and gives them 90 days to investigate before suit, with the limitations period tolled during that window. A verified written opinion from a qualified medical expert has to accompany that notice under Florida Statute § 766.203.

Deadlines and Damages in a Traditional Claim

The deadline rules for children differ in one important way. Florida Statute § 95.11 sets medical malpractice at two years from discovery, with a four-year outer limit, and subsection (5)(c) adds that the four-year period does not bar an action brought on behalf of a minor on or before the child’s eighth birthday. Parents’ own claims for their losses do not get that extension. Our statute of limitations page covers the rest.

Fault works differently too. The rule that bars recovery above 50 percent fault in Florida Statute § 768.81 expressly does not apply to medical negligence claims under chapter 766.

Economic damages in a traditional claim cover lifetime medical and attendant care, therapy, education support, equipment, home modification, and the child’s lost earning capacity as an adult. Non-economic damages cover pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. Severe outcomes sit squarely in catastrophic injury territory, and a fatal outcome becomes a wrongful death claim. Proving negligence runs through the monitoring strips and delivery records, which is why that evidence gets requested immediately.

Frequently Asked Questions

I signed a NICA form. Does that mean I cannot sue? 

Not automatically. The form matters only if the injury meets the statutory definition. Many injuries do not.

Is NICA better or worse than a lawsuit? 

The child’s injury decides it. NICA pays without proving fault but caps some benefits. A traditional claim can recover more but requires proving negligence. The definition decides which applies, not the family’s preference.

When will we know the full extent of the injury? 

Sometimes not for years, which is one reason the minor’s eighth-birthday rule exists. Do not wait on the parents’ own deadline.

How long does this take? 

Longer than most injury claims, because of pre-suit review and the time needed to understand a child’s prognosis. Our case timelines page explains the stages.

Contact Jacobson Injury Firm

Request the full records now: prenatal file, labor and delivery chart, fetal monitoring strips, and the neonatal record. Hospitals keep them, and a complete set is what any evaluation starts from.

Consultations are free, and we work on contingency. Contact us to have the records reviewed. A birth injury attorney in Davie, FL can tell you whether NICA applies before you accept anything from anyone.